


Noted.

by memorizingthedigitsofpi



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Academy Era, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Rated T for swearing, as seen in round one of my ficathon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2019-01-01 04:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12148464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memorizingthedigitsofpi/pseuds/memorizingthedigitsofpi
Summary: Fitzsimmons + “you forgot to remove your snarky sticky note comments from this book and since I got kicked out of the library for laughing too loudly, I'm going to reply to each and every one”Academy AU guest-starring Daisy as Jemma's bestie.





	1. Silence in the Library

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pobmmm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pobmmm/gifts).



Jemma covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her laughter and accidentally snorted. 

Whoever had read this book before her had _not_ enjoyed the protagonist's shenanigans one bit. She was only thirty pages in, and she'd already been shushed twice! She couldn't help wondering why this person had bothered reading the book at all, based on the many _many_ notes she could see stuffed amongst the pages. 

She also wondered why no one had removed them. She'd been on a wait list for this book, after all. It had to have been returned before the library could lend it out to her. Were the staff in the habit of leaving things like this in the books?

Two pages later another note caused her to let out a bark of laughter that actually echoed off of the nearby walls. She was immediately shushed from three different directions. She could feel the glares knifing into her, but she just couldn’t help it! 

She couldn't help but agree. The female lead had already been established as beautiful, sophisticated, sexy, and intelligent. Now she was also able to speak six languages fluently, had an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics, and had hacked into the Pentagon. And that was _on top of_ being able to kill a man with her bare hands. After preparing a ten course meal in her Michelin star restaurant. 

Jemma was rolling her eyes so much, she had a headache!

The second chapter ended on a _very_ explicit love scene, but Jemma couldn't even find it sexy because she was so busy frowning and trying to figure out which body parts were where. It was so poorly described that at one point it had seemed that the woman's lover was somehow equipped with three hands and two tongues. And the book was definitely _not_ science fiction!

Turning the page as the scene continued, she came upon another note. 

She actually yelped before she managed to clamp both hands over her face. Someone cleared their throat in front of her, and she looked up into the disapproving face of the head librarian.

"I-" Jemma started. Her cheeks were flushing with embarrassment, but it wasn't her fault! It was whoever wrote those notes!

"Shh!" It was amazing how tall a 5'1" woman could look when she had her glasses perched on the very end of her nose and a glare so powerful it could light up Manhattan. Jemma wondered if _she'd_ ever be able to exude that sort of intimidation. 

Probably not.

"But-!"

"If you cannot keep quiet, I'm going to have to ask you to leave!" The words were whispered, but they still carried. The glare ticked up another terawatt as the eyes moved down to the book in Jemma's hands. 

Jemma instinctively pulled the book closer to her as if to shield it from the librarian's wrath. "I can be quiet," she whispered, bowing her head meekly. 

The librarian narrowed her eyes in suspicion, then sniffed. "One more chance," she said. "And then you're _out_."

Jemma nodded quickly and watched with wide-eyed horror as the woman left. She was hardly much older than Jemma herself and yet she had an air of ancient vengefulness about her. 

Opening the book up again, Jemma slouched down in her chair and tried not to be noticed. She pressed her lips together in determination not to let loose another _peep_ until she was ready to go. Daisy would be picking her up in- She checked her watch. Twenty minutes. She looked out the window at the pouring rain and shivered. Much better to stay inside the library than to have to wait outside in _that_. 

Unfortunately, five minutes later she came across another note and was summarily bounced from the building. 

Teeth clenched and chattering in the rain, Jemma stood under a too-narrow overhang at the front of the library and bounced on her toes in an attempt to stay warm. It wasn't bad enough that she'd been kicked out of her favourite place on campus _and_ embarrassed in front of a dozen other students and several members of staff. No, she had to wind up out of doors in a downpour as well. Talk about adding insult to injury. 

By the time Daisy pulled up in her beat-up old car, Jemma was soaked through to the bone. 

"Dude, what the hell? You didn't have to wait out here in this crap. I would have texted!"

Jemma squelched into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut behind her. "I didn't have a choice," she said bitterly. 

"What do you mean you-"

"I'll tell you later," she said shortly. "Right now, I want to get home, get dry, and get warm. Then we can talk about me getting revenge."

Daisy whistled and shook her head in surprise. "I'll break out the beers and order a pizza while you shower," she said pulling away from the curb. "And I can't wait til I hear what in the actual hell is going on."


	2. Fear Her

Jemma emerged from her bathroom enveloped in both a cloud of steam from her shower and Daisy's laughter coming from the living room. She padded down the hall in her fluffy robe, towel-drying her hair, and came to a stop when she spotted Daisy reading the book that had started the whole mess.

She raised an eyebrow at her.

"Wha?" Daisy asked. Her mouth was full of popcorn. "I go' hungwy. Piffa won' be he' fo' anover ten mimits."

Jemma rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help laughing. "Maybe chew and swallow before you talk?" she suggest mildly. Coming further into the living room, she dropped down into her comfiest chair. " _That's_ why I got kicked out of the library," she said.

Daisy washed down the popcorn with a swig from her beer bottle. She gestured Jemma towards the other open bottle on the coffee table. "For writing in a book?" she asked. "It's all on post-its! That doesn't hurt anything."

Jemma took a swig of beer and made a slightly pained face as she swallowed. The first sip always tasted awful. "Does that look like my handwriting?" she asked.

Daisy frowned and looked down at the collection of post-its she was collecting on her knee. "Huh. I didn't _think_ it sounded like you. You're usually more subtle than this."

Jemma laughed and stood up, taking another sip of beer. It was much better the second time. "I'm going to get dressed before the pizza comes. Don't take them all out of there," she said, pointing a warning with her finger. "I want to read them all just as their author intended."

Daisy trilled out a sarcastic "ooh" and waggled her eyebrows. "Does Jemma-wemma have a little crush?" she asked in a syrupy-sweet voice.

"Jemma- _wemma_ ," Jemma answered with steel in her voice. " _Doesn't_ have a crush. Jemma- _wemma_ is going to crush her enemies."

The two women exchanged a look.

After a moment, Jemma looked a bit crestfallen. "That wasn't nearly as intimidating as I wanted it to be, was it?" she asked plaintively.

"Next time, maybe don't call yourself Jemma-wemma," Daisy advised.

* * *

By the time Jemma was halfway through the book, she'd started replying to the comments. 

It had become her obsession, finding the person who had written them.

First, she'd gotten Daisy to hack the library database. According to Daisy, it wasn't that hard, so she didn't feel too guilty about paying her in candy bars. Armed with the list of names of everyone who had checked the book out for the entire school year, she'd stalked them one by one.

It wouldn't do to just walk up to them and _ask_ if they'd written the notes, after all. They wouldn't be foolish enough to admit it. Not if they knew what was good for them.

The first potential mortal enemy she'd tracked down was actually in one of Jemma's labs. It didn't take much for her to finagle a seat nearby and get a look at her handwriting. It was more cramped and slightly more angular, and it pointed to the left instead of the right. Unless she was particularly adept at disguising her handwriting, it wasn't her.

The next candidate for most hated person on earth was one of the "bros" who always hung out in the Student Lounge and was forever scooping up all of the free condoms from Health Services. That one had been painful. She'd actually gone on a _date_ with him before concluding there was no way he would have been capable of reading the book in question, let alone writing the notes inside it.

It was an exhausting endeavor, trying to identify her arch-nemesis, and Jemma gradually put less effort into finding them and more time into replying to every single note they'd written in the book.

As she worked her way through the book, she found herself _enjoying_ replying to them. It was almost like having a conversation, really. An incredibly sarcastic conversation, admittedly, but that was sort of what made it so fun? It was nice to see her own thoughts reflected in someone else's handwriting. Especially since whoever the author of those notes was had a truly antagonistic tone to their voice.

If she didn't know for a fact that Daisy hadn't written them, she'd almost have wondered.

She half-heartedly tracked down a few more people from the list of possible adversaries, but her heart wasn't in it anymore. By the time she got to the last name on the list, she almost didn't want to go meet him. Her anger had faded away long before, and now she just thought she might want to be friends.

" _Friends_?" Daisy snorted when Jemma confessed. "With _benefits_ , maybe. Have you _seen_ yourself with that book? You've had it checked out for like _two months_ now. How much have you racked up in fines on that thing?"

Jemma shrugged and tried to look innocent. She was as horrible an actress as she was a liar. "Not that much."

Daisy snorted again. "Why don't you get yourself all prettied up and go 'accidentally' run into this guy. He'll fall in love immediately. You'll instantly want to bang him. It'll be perfect!"

Jemma laughed. "Riiiight. Because that's how life works."

Daisy shrugged. "Who says it can't work like that, just once?"

Jemma made a face, but she was still laughing. "Alright, _fine_ ," she gave in gracelessly. "But I'll have to borrow some clothes. I don't really have anything that will make a man fall in love at first sight."

"Oh, honey," Daisy tsked. "Look in a mirror sometime. You've got nothing to worry about."


	3. Blink

Book in hand, Jemma looked through the large plate glass window at the front of the coffee shop. Based on the student ID photo that she’d memorized, the last potential author of those notes was slouched in a chair in the corner with a large cup of coffee or tea beside him and a look of concentration on his face.

He was reading a novel.

Jemma squinted. It looked like it was by the same author as the book she had clasped tightly in one fist. She felt her nerves jitter through her stomach, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.

“First of all, it might not be him,” she told herself. “And second of all, even if it _is_ him, that doesn’t mean that you’ll actually get on with him. Funny notes are one thing. He might be a complete dullard in conversation.”

Even still, she checked her hair and makeup in her reflection in the glass. She arranged her scarf a bit more artfully and applied a fresh coat of lip gloss. She wondered if she looked a bit odd in a skirt. She so rarely wore one it _felt_ strange, but Daisy had told her she was “a total babe” and ready to “knock him dead.”

Taking a deep breath, she put her hand on the door to go inside.

At the last moment, she decided to put the book in her bag. Better to just start things off on a friendly foot and bring the book up later. If they got on.

She got herself a large tea to help calm herself down, then she made her way to the back corner of the shop where he was sitting.

“Is this seat taken?” she asked with a slightly awkward smile.

He looked up at her in surprise. “What? Oh, no. Go ahead.” He smiled back and returned to his book.

Jemma felt a bit disappointed, but pushed on nonetheless. Perhaps he didn’t realize she was trying to start a conversation.

“Good book?” she asked, taking a sip of her tea.

He looked up again, still surprised that she was talking to him. He blinked and then looked at the cover before looking back at her.

“Sure,” he said, noncommittally. “Pretty similar to his other works.” He looked down at the book uncertainly before looking at Jemma again. He seemed to want her to take the lead in deciding whether the conversation should continue or not.

“I’m Jemma,” she said, smiling as she held out her hand. She was a bit let down when there were no tingling sensations or fireworks when they touched. Still, that didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends, right?

“Milton,” he answered as he shook her hand. “Nice to meet you.”

* * *

" _Milton_?" Daisy asked. Her voice was full of disdain and her expression was similarly unimpressed. "Your dream dude's name is _Milton_?" She shook her head and tsked. "I don't know why I'm surprised, but I am."

Jemma crossed her arms and lifted her chin haughtily. "I didn't say he's my ' _dream dude_ ,'" she said defensively. "But he's... nice? Very..." She searched for the right word. "Mild-mannered."

Daisy snorted. "That's your idea of a compliment?" she asked derisively. "Honey, I know you liked those sticky notes and all, but I think you invested too much into this guy before you met him."

Jemma shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage. "He's been nothing but polite and accommodating," she said. "He's always happy to let me take the lead. He appreciates the fact that I know my mind."

"So he's a total doormat."

"I wouldn't go _that_ far."

"Does he always do what _you_ want to do, even if he doesn't really want to do it himself?"

"Well..."

"Does he always make it so that _you_ have to decide what to do?"

"Always is a strong word. We've only gone out twice."

Daisy looked at Jemma flatly. "I still can't believe I'm only hearing about this _now_."

Jemma blushed and looked guilty. "I didn't want to say anything just at first because-"

"Because?"

Jemma sighed and flopped down on the couch next to Daisy.

"Because he's incredibly boring. I can't believe he's the same man who wrote those notes!"

"Are you _sure_ it was him?"

Jemma nodded glumly. "We met at the library before dinner last night, and he has the same post-its and pen as all of those notes were written with."

"That's circumstantial evidence."

Jemma laughed. "Are you watching Law & Order again?"

Daisy shrugged and grinned. "It's a good show! They almost never leave you hanging, and I appreciate that." Holding out her arm, she pulled Jemma in for a sideways hug. "I'm sorry he's not the dude you were dreaming of."

Jemma sighed. "It's alright. I don't mind."

It really was very disappointing though.

* * *

"Come on in!" Milton said eagerly, opening his door wide. "Don't mind my roommate. _He was just leaving_." He looked over at a curly-haired man in the kitchen who didn't really look like he was going anywhere. 

"Am I not allowed to make a bloody sandwich first before you confine me to my room for the night?" he asked testily.

Jemma blinked. Clearly these two were not as happy as roommate as she and Daisy were.

"Fine," Milton sighed. "Just- Try not to bother us, alright?"

The other man snorted and rolled his eyes before yanking the refrigerator door nearly off its hinges as he opened it.

Jemma felt a bit awkward standing there in the middle of the tension, so she did what she always did in such situations. She tried to cheerful her way out of it.

"I'm Jemma by the way," she said with a chipper wave and a big smile.

"So I've heard," he replied, emerging from the fridge loaded down with what had to be half of its contents. "Milton over here won't shut up about you."

Jemma looked at Milton and felt a sympathetic burst of embarrassment on his behalf. "That's-"

"Oh come on, Fitz," he said plaintively. "I'm not _that_ bad. You're just pissed because I have a date tonight and you don't."

Jemma tilted her head. Fitz? That was an interesting name to go by. No doubt it was based on his surname in one way or another. She wondered if everyone called him that or if it was just Milton.

"I'll believe it's a date when I see it," Fitz grinned. He looked at Jemma appraisingly. "Pretty sure you can do better than this one," he said, gesturing at Milton.

Jemma wanted to disagree, but he wasn't exactly wrong.

"How did you even get together?" he asked with what appeared to be morbid curiosity. "Romance in the calculus classroom? Love in the library?"

Jemma rolled her eyes. How rude could someone be to a stranger? "If you _must_ know, I approached him because of the book he was reading."

Fitz groaned. "Not one of those horrid spy novels he loves so much?" he asked. "I suppose I should have guessed you had poor taste since you're dating Milton, but c'mon."

Jemma blushed and pursed her lips together. Now he was just personally _insulting_. "Have you finished making your sandwich yet?" she asked coolly. "Because I know exactly where you can put it."

Milton looked at her in surprise, but Fitz just burst out laughing.

"I'll give you this much, at least you're not as much of a pushover as Milly over here."

"Fitz," Milton pleaded. "We had an agreement. You give me the living room for the night, and I-"

"Return my library books, I remember," Fitz nodded. That seemed to take the ire out of him. He put the extra ingredients back into the fridge and grabbed the plate with his towering sandwich on it. "Hey, take the notes of out them first?" he asked as he paused in the hallway to the bedrooms. "Last time, they fined me for leaving them in there."

"I know," Milton said wryly. "Me too. Apparently you left a bunch of them in one of those horrible spy novels you hate so much." He smirked. "I guess you liked it enough to leave a bunch of notes in it."

Fitz grinned back and took a big bite of his sandwich. "Mmhmm," he said as he chewed. He swallowed with a large gulp. "A bunch of notes all about how much I _loved_ it."

With that, he wandered down the hallway. Jemma stared after him, jaw practically on the floor as she blinked in shock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops. Looks like there's going to be 4 chapters. Damnit, I always do this. smdh
> 
> :)


	4. Partners in Crime

"So Milton _wasn't_ the guy!" Daisy cheered triumphantly. "I told you so! There was no way any dude named _Milton_ could be cool enough to write those sassy-ass notes." Leaning forward on the couch, she rested her elbows on her knees and her chin on her hands eagerly. "How hot was his roommate?"

Jemma groaned and flopped backwards in her chair. "He was _fine_ ," she said dismissively. "But he was also a total _jerk_."

Daisy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "You read those notes, right? Were you expecting something else?"

Jemma pressed her lips together unhappily. "He told me I had terrible taste and that I could do better than Milton, right in front of Milton! He was incredibly rude."

Daisy grinned. "First of all, you _can_ do better than Milton. You _should_ do better than Milton. I _want_ you to do better than Milton." Reaching out, she took Jemma's hand and squeezed it solemnly. "Milton isn't on your level, sweetie."

Jemma tried to look offended, but she couldn't keep a straight face.

"And second of all," Daisy continued. "I like this guy. He tells it like it is. Sounds like my kinda dude."

Jemma sighed and got up. "Then _you_ can date him," she said. "I'd rather be single."

She started to walk toward the kitchen to make some tea, but Daisy caught her hand again and pulled her back.

"Single?" Daisy asked. She looked at her with an expression of guarded hope. " _Are_ you single, Jemma? Did you de-Milton-ize yourself?"

Jemma laughed and nodded. "Yes. I de-Milton-ized myself."

Daisy yanked on her hand, forcing Jemma to fall onto the couch beside her.

"And you're just _now_ mentioning this??" she asked accusingly. "First I don't hear that you got together and then I don't hear that you dumped him? What kind of a best friendship is this?"

Jemma had the good graces to look sheepish. "I thought you'd be more interested in the other thing?" she said with an apologetic upwards inflection. "I was going to tell you the other thing after I made my tea."

Daisy stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed, looking for any of Jemma's many tells that indicated she was lying. Finally she released her.

"Fine," she said a bit grumpily. "Go and get your leaf water. But then I expect to hear the whole tale of how you broke his heart and destroyed him utterly."

Jemma laughed and stood up again. "We hung out three times and kissed twice. I somehow doubt I've ruined his life."

"Give yourself more credit."

* * *

Jemma returned the book to the library the next day. She was disappointed with how it had all turned out, but she was also an eternal optimist. At least she'd had the fun and laughter of those notes, right? They'd kept her entertained for a lot longer than most things did, so it was worth it overall. 

Still, she'd thought she might gain a friend out of the experience. Perhaps more. That was a bit hard to let go of.

Life returned to normal over the next few weeks. Jemma went to class like always and studied in the library as usual. She and Daisy ordered in pizza and watched TV like always. And if Daisy sometimes suggested that she maybe give Fitz another chance, Jemma would just give her a look and change the subject.

But with the new term came new classes and she and Fitz ended up in the same lab section for Chemistry. They didn't partner up, but he did wave at her in a vague way on the first day of classes.

"You look familiar. Were we in the same lab section last term?" he asked as they both got distilled water out of the cabinet on the side of the room.

"Nope," Jemma smiled, shaking her head. "Sorry. Must have me confused with someone else."

He wrinkled his forehead in thought and dropped the matter, but she saw him looking at her every once in a while, obviously trying to figure out where he'd seen her before. She thought about solving the mystery for him, but figured he'd give it up soon enough.

As the weeks went by, he'd ask her occasionally if she'd been to a certain party or attended a particular campus event. He wasn't giving up, and she was sort of amused by the whole thing. Each time she told him he must be confused, and each time she didn't tell him how they'd actually met the first time.

A group of them from the lab formed a study group. They met in the library on Saturday afternoons to work through their problems sets and study for quizzes and tests. Despite herself, Jemma started finding Fitz's sarcasm funny instead of rude. It was the notes in the book all over again. She started verbally sparring with him out of spite but ended up doing it for the sheer pleasure of a quick-witted conversation.

Finally, one Saturday she came home and dropped down on the couch next to Daisy, burying her face in her shoulder.

"Uhh. Hi?" Daisy said, patting her back in confused comfort. "Everything alright there?"

"I _like_ him!" Jemma moaned into Daisy's hoodie.

"Him who?" Daisy asked.

Jemma raised her head and gave her a significant look.

"Dream dude from the post-its?" Daisy asked eagerly.

Jemma nodded miserably.

"Thats great!"

"It's not!"

"How is it not great?"

Jemma chewed on her bottom lip worriedly. "Because I've been lying to him for months about not knowing him, and if I tell him how I _do_ know him he'll find out that I'm a crazy stalker woman!"

Daisy sucked in a breath through her teeth and nodded sympathetically. "I mean, I'd probably frame it a bit differently if I were you, but yeah. Technically?"

Jemma fell back dramatically and covered her face with her hands. "What am I supposed to _do_?"

"Ask Milton to set you two up?"

Jemma sat up. Daisy was grinning at her mischievously. "Not. Funny."

"Oh c'mon!" Daisy said, nudging her leg. "It's a _little_ bit funny."

Jemma just pouted.

"Alright _fine_ ," Daisy pouted back. "But seriously though. You're an independent woman! Just ask him the fuck out!"

"But-"

"He's not going to say no unless he's already seeing someone or he's gay."

"But-"

"And if he's spending as much time as you say he is trying to figure out how he knows you, he's definitely interested."

"But-"

"Do you want to be the one in charge of your destiny? Or do you want to leave it all up to the cosmos?"

Jemma stopped short at that. "Really?" she asked in a flat tone. "The _cosmos_?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Just say Fate like a normal person."

"I'll say what I want and you'll listen to me," Daisy retorted, sticking out her tongue.

Jemma heaved a sigh. She couldn't really argue with the point, could she?

"How would I even go about it?" she asked. She wasn't giving in quite yet, but she was close.

"Let's order a pizza and figure it out!"

* * *

Jemma got to the library first the next weekend. Full of nerves, she prepared as best she could. Today was the day. 

Even Daisy's pep talk that morning wasn't enough to convince her Fitz would say yes.

She wasn't even sure what she wanted to _ask_.

She was distracted all through their study session. Any time someone asked her a question, she'd realize she was staring at Fitz and immediately scramble with her notes. Thankfully, she was so well-prepared she was always able to answer, but she was horrified by how very un-subtle she was being.

Even Fitz picked up on it. As everyone packed up at the end of the session, he moved more slowly, lingering until they were the only ones left.

"Did I spill a drink on you at the pub or something?" he jokingly asked. Blushing, he cleared his throat. "I figure I must have been drunk to forget meeting you."

Jemma blushed and felt a thrill go through her. Maybe Daisy was right and he _was_ interested?

Shaking her head, she reached into her bag. With a deep breath and a silent prayer, she pulled out the book. She'd put all of the post-its back into it. All of her replies.

Fitz's eyes widened when he saw it. She could see the wheels turning and finally he blinked at her in surprise. "Wait, you-?"

"I thought it was Milton," Jemma confessed. "Who wrote the notes. That's why I- That's how we met before."

"But-"

"And when I realized it wasn't him... Well, he's sort of..." She trailed off with a guilty look.

"Dull as dry toast?"

"Yeah."

Fitz took the book she held out to him and flipped through it. He looked up at her in surprise when he saw that she'd replied to him, then he looked back at the book and kept flipping. "All of them?" he asked.

Jemma nodded. "Once I started, I just sort of-" She shrugged and chuckled nervously.

"So you _do_ think I'm funny," Fitz grinned. He looked rather proud of himself.

Jemma smiled. "I do, yes."

He looked back down at the page he had open and chuckled at her note. "I think you're funny too."

He was looking at her in a way that made her heart flop over and before she even thought it through properly Jemma found herself saying, "Want to go somewhere and be funny together?"

A slow smile spread across Fitz's face as he nodded and moved in closer. "Anywhere you want," he agreed.

Jemma looked around the study room they were in and moved toward Fitz. Licking her lips, she tilted her head up at him as he tilted his down to her.

"I've got this room booked for another fifteen minutes," she said.

"Well then. Might as well take advantage."

They were still kissing twenty minutes later when the next study group came in.

 


End file.
